Am I going to miss Disney? Nervous.

[DannyDisneyFreak]

We are sailing on the Jewel of the Seas next month to Alaska. This trip is somewhat against my will... that may be a bit of an overstatement, I am excited about vacation but I would have never planned this without request of my wife. I'm the Disneyphile, my wife not so much. She enjoys Disney but not in the large doses like me. We got married last October and did what we referred to as our un-honeymoon. She did not want to honeymoon to WDW but wanted to go on an Alaskan cruise. Well October/November is not Alaska season so it was planned to postpone till this summer. With some encouragement I talked her into post wedding Disney and we had a good time but she says that was my honeymoon and she gets her honeymoon in Alaska. She did not want to do Disney Cruise Line to my disappointment, which in all honesty was a bit out of our budget. We got it for about half the price and a $1000 shipboard credit!!! I would never left to my own devices choose to cruise anywhere ice would be floating in the water, unless I spilled my cocktail overboard. All that being said I am slightly nervous I will not enjoy myself. Can I get some encouragement from you RC lovers! Is there a possibility I may fall in love and not miss Disney? Will I be so awestruck by the beauty of America's last frontier that I won't miss white sand and palm trees? Please mentally prepare me to have fun.

 

[Laz]

I have never been to Alaska, so I can not comment on that aspect of your trip. However, being a RCCL and Jewel of the Seas veteran, I can offer opinions. I was on the Jewel of the Seas when she sailed the Southern Caribbean. The Jewel is a smaller, older, ship, but wonderfully maintained with a fantastic crew. Her class of ships were built with the Alaska cruise in mind. She has lots of glass for viewing and an enclosed pool area. My biggest advice to you is to NOT compare The Jewel with a Disney Cruise, for they are a totally different experiences. Go with on open mind. If you go looking for problems, you will more than likely find them. However, if you go looking for a great time, you will have it!

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

I have never been to Alaska, so I can not comment on that aspect of your trip. However, being a RCCL and Jewel of the Seas veteran, I can offer opinions. I was on the Jewel of the Seas when she sailed the Southern Caribbean. The Jewel is a smaller, older, ship, but wonderfully maintained with a fantastic crew. Her class of ships were built with the Alaska cruise in mind. She has lots of glass for viewing and an enclosed pool area. My biggest advice to you is to NOT compare The Jewel with a Disney Cruise, for they are a totally different experiences. Go with on open mind. If you go looking for problems, you will more than likely find them. However, if you go looking for a great time, you will have it!

I'm definitely not going in looking for "problems" but I'm worried I have certain expectations of a cruise but only have Disney in mind.

 

[bumbershoot]

I do'nt know what kind of expectations you might have that Disney does and Royal doesn't. We have had better service overall on Royal. Sure, they won't have Mickey Mouse, but that's a bonus for me. (not into characters)

And as DDF said, the Radiance class of ships was MADE for Alaska. Gorgeous. Radiance of the Seas was our honeymoon cruise. And we're revisiting it this year in what seems to be Radiance's last roundtrip Alaska cruise because it was so nice.

We don't miss Disney *at all* when we're on Royal. On our second Dream cruise we saw Freedom docked there and were so sad we were getting on Dream instead, but told Freedom that we would be seeing her soon. When we were finally on Freedom of the Seas we saw Dream over there and waved, thinking how jealous the people onboard should be of us. I bet they were thinking we were jealous, but nope, not even a little bit!

Radiance class ships are *amazing*. Not the biggest of their ships (though they were at the time of our honeymoon), but gorgeous!

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

I do'nt know what kind of expectations you might have that Disney does and Royal doesn't. We have had better service overall on Royal. Sure, they won't have Mickey Mouse, but that's a bonus for me. (not into characters)

And as DDF said, the Radiance class of ships was MADE for Alaska. Gorgeous. Radiance of the Seas was our honeymoon cruise. And we're revisiting it this year in what seems to be Radiance's last roundtrip Alaska cruise because it was so nice.

We don't miss Disney *at all* when we're on Royal. On our second Dream cruise we saw Freedom docked there and were so sad we were getting on Dream instead, but told Freedom that we would be seeing her soon. When we were finally on Freedom of the Seas we saw Dream over there and waved, thinking how jealous the people onboard should be of us. I bet they were thinking we were jealous, but nope, not even a little bit!

Radiance class ships are *amazing*. Not the biggest of their ships (though they were at the time of our honeymoon), but gorgeous!

Most Disney fans and almost everyone on DISboards set Disney as their standard so I don't know why it would be a surprise to anyone. I know there are some that love RC or Universal and some Disney fans don't get it. I know it's just preference but I think my apprehensions weather justified or not are in the majority.

 

[Frozen2014]

Sounds like you're both doing great compromise and going on each others vacation preference. Disney World and such are amazing but there's a whole world out there . Cruises are great. Try and go in with a positive attitude...travel time with your spouse being pampered and seeing new places. It can't be compared with Disney (and even DCL is different). Enjoy.

 

[starvenger]

One of the toughest things for me on my first cruise (which was also pre-kids) was trying to chill out and slow down. Once I got that figured out, it's been

smooth sailing ever since.

 

[jenf22]

Honestly, you might miss Disney. Jewel of the Seas, so far, has been our only non-Disney cruise. I thought it was a beautiful ship with lots of glass everywhere. In Alaska you'll love being able to see the scenery. Alaska was, hands-down, my favorite vacation ever. I think if I were you (and nervous) I would try to add in some fun extras that I wouldn't normally get on Disney. With the savings and your OBC you could add in a beverage package, eat in the specialty restaurants, maybe get a massage or two, or even upgrade to a suite. I think you'll have an awesome time. Just go in with an open mind and try to stop yourself when you start the "this would be different on Disney" train of thought

 

[jdb in AZ]

We cruised up the California coast with Disney, spent three days in Vancouver, then cruised to Alaska on the Radiance. The first thing I noticed was the difference in noise level. Royal still had kids, but they weren't running up and down the hallways and playing on the elevators. That's not to say all Disney cruise kids are noisy, but there's a lot more of them.

Alaska is our favorite place to cruise -- have been there/done that five times (3 different cruise lines.) The scenery soothes my soul. Not to mention that I need to get away from the Arizona heat.

Cruising is totally different than going to WDW or Disneyland. It's nice to relax and be pampered instead of go-go-go til you just can't go any more. Sign up for some fun shore excursions you can't do in the parks -- watch real wild life instead of characters in costumes. Go flight seeing in a float plane, or ride a dog sled. Or take the train out of Skagway instead of the thunder mtn railroad. Give Alaska a chance -- you might fall in love.

 

[NancyIL]

Most Disney fans and almost everyone on DISboards set Disney as their standard so I don't know why it would be a surprise to anyone. I know there are some that love RC or Universal and some Disney fans don't get it. I know it's just preference but I think my apprehensions weather justified or not are in the majority.

Sounds like you have a very sensible wife! I have cruised to Alaska on Princess and HAL (twice on each), and I loved Alaska and my cruise ships. I have also sailed on Royal Caribbean (including Jewel of the Seas in 2005) and Celebrity, in addition to DCL. As far as I am concerned, the only "standard" DCL has set is having the highest price tag!

 

[Patricia1]

I'm just reviewing cruises for 2016 and this thread answered a few of my questions. Do the Veterans have recommendations on staterooms? We always get Oceanview Stateroom w/Veranda on DCL and am wondering about suites on Royal. Thanks

 

[SevenWonkas]

We get Jr. Suites on Royal. You get a bigger bathroom with a full tub. The room size itself is about the size of 1.5 standard balcony rooms. If you are on Oasis or Allure, then the rooms on the "hump" have an extended balcony and you'll get a lounger in addition to the normal table/chairs.

On our DCL cruises so far, we've always booked 4Es. For off season pricing, we find the pricing fairly comparable between the Jr. Suite on Royal and 4E on DCL.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Well try it out and let us know in fact why not try many cruise lines so you know what works for you!

I can bet 100% your going to have an amazing time on your Royal Carribean cruise!

 

[tiberius]

Well try it out and let us know in fact why not try many cruise lines so you know what works for you!

That's my thought! While I love DCL and will keep coming back, I look forward to trying a few other cruise lines as well.

 

[ludari]

You might miss Disney a little but I don't think it will pull you away completely if you are a Disney fan. I have completed 7 Disney Cruises in the past 5 years and I have another one scheduled for this November. A friend of mine had mentioned RCL Anthem of the Seas and my first thought was that I would rather spend my $ on a Disney Cruise. Nevertheless after checking out the itinerary and the cost I decided to book it. I am sure this one cruise will not pull me away from cruising with Disney. I'll be contacting my TA later today or tomorrow to book that RCL cruise.

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

Disembarking Jewel of the Seas in less than an hour and don't want to get off the boat! We did miss Disney a little but would sail RC again in a heartbeat. The only things disappointing was Windjammer buffet and selection of ship activities at times. Cabanas is far better in quality and selections of food. I think the most disappointing point in the cruise was looking at the gross looking waffles in the buffet line and thinking; "I wish those were delicious Mickey waffles." Food in windjammer was very underwhelming. The main dining room in the other hand was magnificent, food better than either of my Disney cruises before and service was equal. Gluten free options were very good for my wife also due to her gluten allergy. Overall the staff for decent, very good service for the most part but not that extra Disney touch in most cases. Except for our state room attendant, I would have to say he really made our stay feel more "magical" even away from Disney. The entertainment was very good, not the Disney spectacular productions but some very entertaining performances and talented cast.

We did not sail with our kids this time but we checked out the kids clubs and although they seemed decent enough they were far from Disney. I would say sailing with kids is what would be the only thing that might keep us away from RC. But than again Disney is close to twice the cost most of the time than RC.

All in all RC was wonderful and we will sail again and unless Disney drops its prices they're going to be a much tougher sell to us now.

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

Well try it out and let us know in fact why not try many cruise lines so you know what works for you!

I can bet 100% your going to have an amazing time on your Royal Carribean cruise!

You were right! And talking about betting… I forgot to mention the casino was a big plus too. We are not big gamblers but I really enjoyed playing black jack, it was a first for me but the table games were much less intimidating that being in a big casino. I didn't come out in the black but had a lot of fun. A couple night they even had $3 min bets which really stretched the $$$.

 

[eskimoinparadise]

I have never been to Alaska, so I can not comment on that aspect of your trip. However, being a RCCL and Jewel of the Seas veteran, I can offer opinions. I was on the Jewel of the Seas when she sailed the Southern Caribbean. The Jewel is a smaller, older, ship, but wonderfully maintained with a fantastic crew. Her class of ships were built with the Alaska cruise in mind. She has lots of glass for viewing and an enclosed pool area. My biggest advice to you is to NOT compare The Jewel with a Disney Cruise, for they are a totally different experiences. Go with on open mind. If you go looking for problems, you will more than likely find them. However, if you go looking for a great time, you will have it!

Jewel of the Seas is five years younger than Disney Wonder, and unlike Disney - which focuses your attention inward, Jewel (actually all four of the Radiance class ships) is designed to focus your attention outward so you can see the sights from virtually anywhere on the ship. It was designed purposely with routes like Alaska in mind. The first time we sailed on a Radiance class ship (after several cruises on Magic and Wonder), our first impression was the interiors reminded us of those ships - very richly appointed - but Disney forgot to put in the view. DW's first comment was "this is what Disney should have done when they designed their ships."

 

[papertraveller]

I am so happy to see that you enjoyed the cruise on the Jewel. We sail on her just after Christmas, which will no doubt be a different type of cruise given the time of year. I have my fingers crossed that this will mean more families, and as a result perhaps slightly different programming or dynamic because of the number of kids.
Delighted to see that you enjoyed the MDR. It's funny actually, because based on reviews I'd seen on CC about the Windjammer I was thinking it would be superior to Cabanas, and the MDR less so! (That said, we found Cabanas on the Magic to be not as great as the Dream and Fantasy, although I think that isn't that surprising given the ship sizes.)
Like you, we have cruised only Disney and I have been monitoring this thread with the same concerns that you had. It's wonderful that you had such a great time. Thank you for the update.

 

[bumbershoot]

The only things disappointing was Windjammer buffet and selection of ship activities at times. Cabanas is far better in quality and selections of food.

We feel the opposite! Cabanas = patooie! For us. Windjammer, especially breakfast, is yummo. For us.

Gluten free options were very good for my wife also due to her gluten allergy.

Yay!


I'm sorry they made you get off the ship. I hate when they do that. It's like they want you pay again or something.


FWIW my son likes Royal's kid's program more than Disney's. On Disney he's one of many, there's no personal interaction, they are just let loose. On Royal the counselors know the kids by name, they play WITH them (and not just for special things like "Get The Hook"), it's more like a summer camp with lots of activities vs Disney's free-floating daycare.